Five Wii games you should have played, but probably didn't

Unlike the DS, there's still a smidge of life left in the ol' Wii--thanks to 2012 releases like Mario Party 9, Rhythm Heaven Fever and Xenoblade Chronicles. That trio of titles is about all that's worth picking up for Nintendo's little white wonder next year, though, which means it'll be all but dead by the time the Wii U hits store shelves later this year.

As such, this is a good time for new and old Wii owners alike to pick up a few of the system's should-have-been-classics (in my opinion, of course)--like the ones included on the following list--before they become impossible to find or impossible to afford:

1. Art Style: Cubello--This often-frenetic puzzler (called Cubeleo in Japan, for some strange reason) was one of the first WiiWare titles, yet it's still among the very best the service has to offer. All you really need to know about this pleasingly and colorfully 3D release: It was made by the folks at skip Ltd.--aka the same folks responsible for the Chibi-Robo! series as well as wackadoodle titles like Captain Rainbow and GiFTPiA.

2. Endless Ocean--Here's another game, like Final Fantasy: The 4 Heroes of Light, that I've mentioned so many times that half of you (if not more) probably let out a huge sigh when you saw I was going to talk about it again. Sorry about that. It's just that this "scuba simulator" was all but ignored in every region, as far as I'm aware. Curiously, this game's sequel, Endless Ocean: Blue World, is cheaper at the moment, so you may want to pick up that version instead. Just be warned that I've yet to play it, so I can't say if it's better or worse than developer Arika's original effort.

3. Final Fantasy Fables: Chocobo's Dungeon--This recommendation comes with a disclaimer: If you're not at all interested in or at least curious about roguelikes and/or dungeon-crawling RPGs, you're probably not going to get much enjoyment out of this game. To everyone else: Go into this one (order it here) with an open mind and expect to grind, old-school style. Oh, and don't be afraid to say "awww" whenever the titular Chocobo does something cute (which will be often).

4. Ivy the Kiwi?--Speaking of cute, the protagonist of this Prope-developed platformer is about as cute as you can get. I mean, the little bugger (sorry, I'm not sure if it's a he or a she) is a baby bird that has yet to break free of its polka-dotted shell. Thankfully, though, that's not all this game has to offer. A few of its other positives: An appealing art style--which makes the game look as though it was made using colored pencils--and a unique control scheme that has players utilize the Wii remote's pointer function to create vines that serve to guide--a la Kirby: Canvas Curse--the precious Ivy from the start of each stage to its end.

5. Order Up!--I have a feeling this one has been given the cold shoulder by most gamers because they think it looks like shovelware. That's an understandable assessment, especially given its publisher (Zoo Games, responsible for such "classics" as Kevin VanDam: Big Bass Challenge and Shawn Johnson Gymnastics), but in my experience and opinion it's also an incorrect one, as this cooking-focused title is as fun as it is well-made. (Case in point: Its mini-games are both more intuitive and accurate than those found in, say, the Cooking Mama releases).

Honorable mentions: Art Syle: Orbient, Kirby's Epic Yarn, Little King's Story, LostWinds and Muramasa: The Demon Blade.

See also: 'Five DS games you should have played, but probably didn't'